In May 2011, Kiva began a new lending channel dubbed ‘’Kiva Green Loans’’ that target enterprises reducing energy consumption by coming up with new models of conserving waste and pollution by recycling used materials towards alleviating energy poverty and maintaining a healthy environment.

It is estimated that 1.5 billion people which is a quarter of the world’s population do not have access to electricity where the only source of energy comes from costly and polluting products like charcoal and kerosene.

Kiva started its operation with only five employees with a total of $ 3,500 in funded loans. Today, it boasts to a huge global community of 850,000 members giving out $1.5 million in loans per week.

Kiva borrows its name from East Africa where its founders initially worked in Uganda and Kenya. In Uganda, Kiva is a colloquial word for unity.